Leeds United suffered a significant blow when Ethan Ampadu was injured midway through the match against Coventry City on September 28, and then, a few days later, Ilia Gruev sustained an injury during the game against Norwich City.
The 24-year-old will be out for the rest of 2024, which could prompt the Whites to enter the free-agent market to bolster the thinning depth in the midfield.
Leeds avoided a major blow with Ampadu’s injury, as it turned out to be to his lateral collateral ligament (LCL) rather than the more serious anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which could have kept him out for the entire 2024-25 season.
As for Gruev, the midfielder will miss months rather than weeks and undergo surgery on his meniscus after sustaining a significant knee injury in the draw at Norwich City.
Will Leeds finally explore the free-agent market?
The Whites need to go through three months of Championship football before they can reach January, when they can explore the transfer market to tweak any issues in the squad. With the midfield depth already thinning, the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth reports that Leeds have their eye on one veteran.
Leeds United are considering a few free agents to address their midfield injury crisis, and Cheikhou Kouyaté is among them. The 34-year-old has been a free agent since the summer when Nottingham Forest released him after a two-year contract that saw him make 36 appearances.
Last season, the Senegal international, who has 92 caps, started two games and came off the bench 10 times as Forest managed to stay up, but he only played a total of 208 minutes in the Premier League.
With 291 Premier League appearances under his belt from his time at West Ham United, Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest, Kouyaté would add significant experience to the Leeds squad.
Moreover, Kouyaté has had great success winning trophies during his long career. He won four league titles in Belgium and an African Cup of Nations with Senegal. Nonetheless, like all the players the Whites are considering, how long it would take for him to regain match fitness is an essential factor to think about.
